The Associate of the Doctor
by Lord Aerono
Summary: The Doctor and Clara are investigating temporal anomalies in the New Roman Empire when they encounter the last person they'd expect. Another Time Lord who escaped Gallifrey. But can the Doctor tolerate the newcomer long enough to discover the source of the disturbance?
1. Still not alone

"Where are we going now?" Clara asked, leaning against the TARDIS control panel.

"500 years into the future" The Doctor said, doing something to the controls. "to the New Roman Empire."

"O-kay. Why?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment. "I think I may have caused it." He said eventually. "I don't think it was supposed to happen. I-"

Wareeh. Wareeh.

The Doctor stopped talking as the sound of the TARDIS's engines started up. Clara was about to ask him what he'd been saying when she realized that the TARDIS wasn't moving. So where was the sound coming from?

WAREEH! WAREEH! WAREEH! Boom.

The Doctor and Clara turned to face the marble pillar which had just appeared on the deck.

There was a moment of silence.

Then a red-goggled face leaned out from behind the pillar. It brightened at the sight of the Doctor. "Hello!" It said cheerfully, as the man it belonged to stepped out from behind the pillar. "I'm the Associate. How are you?"

"What are you doing on my ship?" The Doctor demanded in a flat voice.

The Associate chuckled. "Looking for you, of course. Can't afford any loners just now. We lost Gallifrey to the Daleks, after all. We need every Time Lord we can find united if we're going to be able to build a new home."

"What?" Clara broke in, confused. "Gallifrey wasn't destroyed."

"Don't tell me my business, little..." The Associate leaned closer. "...human? You have a human on your ship? How...what...why is there a human on your ship? That is the most flagrant breach of non-intervention that I have ever seen. Who do you think you are?"

"I'm the Doctor."

The Associate stared blankly. "Is that supposed to mean something to me? You are a Time Lord, and unless they are members of the Celestial Intervention Agency, Time Lords do not pluck people out of time, and they ESPECIALLY do not let them know about the existence of Time Lords!"

"I am part of the C.I.A." The Doctor said, a little stiffly.

"Prove it."

The Doctor took out his wallet, flipped it open, and showed the Associate the card in the center.

"Oh. I see. My apologies."

The Doctor put his wallet away. "Now, as I said earlier, get off my ship."

The Associate took a step back. He appeared to think for a moment then sighed. "Alright. If you ever change your mind..." He placed a hand on the Doctor's TARDIS's telepathic circuit. "...your TARDIS knows where to find me. Goodbye, Doctor."

The Associate walked around behind the pillar and vanished. A second later, the sound of a TARDIS's engines was heard, and the pillar dissapeared.

"What was that?" Clara asked, crossing over to the Doctor.

"Some Time Lord-impersonator with a stolen TARDIS." The Doctor said, making a few adjustments to the controls and starting the engines.

"How do you know he wasn't a real Time Lord? Someone else who escaped Gallifrey."

"He didn't notice the psychic paper. Any Time Lord should have been able to see through that."

The Doctor opened the door and walked out, and Clara followed him out and closed the door.

She had to stop suddenly to avoid walking into the Doctor. She leaned to see why he'd stopped.

In a black vest, white long-sleeved shirt, black slacks and shoes, and with the goggles and a smile on his face, the Associate was leaning against a pillar a few feet away. "Hello. I'm the Associate. Can we try that conversation again?"

"How did you get here before me?"

The Associate chuckled. "Please. You're flying a T-44. My TARDIS can be landed before you take off."

"No, that's not what I meant. What I wanted to know is how you knew to come here."

The Associate smiled. "When I gave your TARDIS my coordinates, I also grabbed your target coordinates. Spent a few weeks thinking about our chat and doing research on you, and popped on ahead to be here when you arrived. Speaking of here-" The Associate cast a disparaging eye over the Doctor and Clara's attire. "When were you planning on changing you outfits? Or, for that matter your TARDIS? Observation only, remember?"

"I know the rules." The Doctor snapped. "I don't have to follow them. I'm CIA, remember. I showed you my credentials."

"Oh, you mean the piece of psychic paper that said 'Get out of my TARDIS or I'll push you into the time vortex'? Those credentials?"

Clara smothered a laugh. "Wait what? Seriously?"

"Shut up human. The Time Lords are talking."

"Don't tell her to shut up."

"Don't avoid my question. Why no camouflage, _Time Lord_?"

"I like my TARDIS the way it is."

"The way it is is a flagrant breach of our mandate not to interfere, as is your lack of proper attire. Get back in your TARDIS and get camouflaged. Now."

"Why?"

"Because..." The associate drew a red blaster from a hip holster that hadn't been there a second before, and leveled it at the Doctor. "I have a Jundoon blaster, and I am willing to use it. Even on the second-to-last Time Lord."


	2. Dangerous Surprises

For a long moment, the group was frozen.

"That's a nice blaster." The Doctor said at length. "How did you get it without violating the 'no interference' rule? Since you so clearly like to follow the rules."

The Associate smiled slightly. "I got it from the CIA, actually. They confiscated some equipment from a group trying to alter time, and I requested the blaster. Nice and compact, but still packs a wallop."

"Bit long of a recharge time though."

"Not anymore. I spent a while tinkering with it. Eventually got it down to about half a second."

The Doctor looked slightly surprised. "Impressive. I presume you use a perception filter to keep people from noticing it."

"Yep. This and my sword."

"You have a sword."

"Yes, I have a sword." A roman gladius faded into view on the Associate's left hip, then faded away again. "Bit old fashioned, but I'm fond of it. And since I don't need to use it much, I may as well as have a weapon based on looks."

"Must be inconvenient in a crowded area, having a sword no-one else can see."

"A bit. You learn to compensate. And stop trying to distract me Doctor. You're still getting in your TARDIS and getting it and you camouflaged."

"What if I don't? Are you really prepared to shoot the only other Time Lord?"

The Associate's blaster wavered for a moment, then steadied. "TARDIS, Doctor. Now."

The Doctor started to speak, but the Associate shouted over him. "DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!"

"I don't take orders."

A new voice broke in. "Is everything alright back here?"

The Associate turned. Standing at the entrance of the alley that they were in was a man in the armor of a roman centurion, albeit with a high-tech visor and a forcefield shield. In his right hand was a copy of the sword on the Associate's hip, though this one was clearly newer and better made. It was also pointed at the Associate.

"Nothing much, officer. Just a little dispute over my friend's...attire." The sword seemed to be holding the associate's attention.

"Sorry to hear of your grievance, but I need you to put your weapon on the ground, and place your hands against the wall to your left."

"Sure, sure. No...problem." The associate was still fixated on the sword as he followed the centurion's orders.

The soldier advanced on the Associate, motioning the Doctor and Clara back away from him.

"Shouldn't we doing something?"

"Like what, Clara?"

"I dunno. Help?"

"Why? He was going to shoot us."

"Well spoken sir. Why help him indeed." The Centurion picked up the Associate's blaster carefully, and placed it in his belt. "Don't worry though. He won't be bothering you again."

"Hey, just be careful with that gun. I spent a lot of work on upgrading it."

"I'm sure." The centurion reached for the Associate's right wrist. "It'll be left in the weapons locker unti-unh." The centurion collapsed.

The Associate turned and looked at his handy work, then back up at the Doctor.

"What happened to 'no interference'?"

"Too late now. Someone beat us to it."

"What do you mean?"

The Associate looked at the doctor in annoyance. "Look at his sword? Anything about it seem even a little off?"

"It's been adjusted to fire a bean weapon from the tip. That's normal in this time."

"It is, but the type of beam isn't. Take a closer look."

The Doctor stared at the Associate for a moment, then crouched down and took out the sonic screwdriver.

"A sonic screwdriver. Interesting choice of tool."

The Doctor ignored this comment, focusing on his search. After a moment, he froze. "That can't be right. It has to be a mistake."

The Associate shook his head. "It's not. I got the same reading off of my goggles. Not good, is it?"

"Sorry, what?" Clara asked. "What's not good?"

The Doctor stood up. "Clara, that sword can fire a beam that can kill any organic lifeform. There's only one other race with a weapon like this who would hand it out to simple soldier."

"And they are?"

"The Daleks." The Associate said, breaking into the conversation and forgetting to be condescending. "The most savage killers in the universe, and they're here in this time."


	3. What have we here?

"I thought you didn't want us going anywhere until we dealt with the camouflage issue?"

"This takes precedence. Besides, I doubt I was getting anywhere."

"No, you weren't. I don't take orders from you."

The Associate sighed. "It's not an order so much as a suggestion to follow the rules."

"You really don't know me very well, do you?"

The Associate chuckled. "Not nearly as well as I'd like. The records on my TARDIS were sadly missing certain key details, particularly about your early years."

The Doctor turned and glared at the Associate. "Of course it is. What do you expect of an old, secondhand, broken TARDIS?"

The Doctor blinked. The Associate's blaster was an centimeter from his left eye.

"What was that about my TARDIS?" The Associate's voice was icy cold.

"Well you can't be a real Time Lord, so, logically, that can't be a real TARDIS, or if it is, it was stolen from a repair shop."

"How do you know that I'm not real? You're wrong, but I want to hear your logic."

"Save the Master, no Time Lords escaped the destruction of Gallifrey, and even he went back into the time lock. You really expect me to believe that I would miss even one time lord. I scoured the universe looking for another survivor. There wasn't one."

The Associate stood still for a moment, then holstered his blaster. "That's because you missed the obvious. I followed you away from Gallifrey the last time your were there, when all your regenerations arrived to watch it die. I haven't been anywhere findable until now, because I just caught up to you." The Associate smirked. "And OI must say, you're a hard man to follow. You fly like insanity. Is there a reason you always fly with the parking brake on?"

Clara smothered a laugh.

"I like the sound." The Doctor snapped, glaring both at Clara and the Associate.

"Fair enough. I do the same thing when it's practical."

"Thank you. I'm so glad to have your approval. Now can we find the Daleks, or must I get your approval for that as well?"

The Associate stood silent for a long moment, staring at the Doctor. "You really don't believe I'm real, do you?"

"How could I? What proof do you have, aside from a TARDIS?"

The Associate smiled. "Tell you what. You can watch my next regeneration."

"I'm not interested in watching you die."

The Associate sighed and walked down the alley. "Done with this conversation. Let's get this going."

The Doctor waited a moment, then followed. "Finally, you said something that makes sense."

The Associate stopped at the end of the hallway, and seemed about to make a remark when something caught his eye and stopped him cold. "OO0O/OO0/O0O?"

Clara frowned, because the TARDIS hadn't translated that. But the Doctor stopped like he'd walked into a brick wall.

"Doctor? What did he say?" Clara said, gesturing at the Associate, who was now running down the road at the end of the alley.

"That was Gallifreyan. Where did he learn gallifreyan?"

"Maybe he's telling the truth? He really is another time lord who escaped Gallifrey?"

The Doctor didn't answer, instead hurrying after the Associate with Clara on his heels.

They found the Associate staring intently at a digital signpost on the street corner.

"Oh look what you found." The Doctor said snidely "You found a sign. What an amazing time lord you are."

"It's not the sign. It the parts of the sign."

"What?"

The Associate glanced at the Doctor. "Look at it! The graphics are at least three years out of date, which is against the laws of this time. On the other hand, the support pole and control circuits won't be available for six months, and they both look like industrial discards. Do you get it now?"

"The Daleks aren't here with a few soldiers. Look around! There's twice as many centurions as there should be. Too many soldiers, advanced metal, poor civilian systems. Do you need me to say it?"

"No." The Doctor said, realization sinking in. "I get it. They're building an army. The Daleks are making a human army to conquer the galaxy for them."


	4. Down a Soldier

"You there! What are you doing?"

The Doctor turned to see a quintet of centurions approaching, and a distinct lack of pedestrians in the area.

"Is there a problem tribunus?" The Associate asked, stepping forward. "We were just examining this sign for possible electrical issues."

"We'll need to see some credentials."

"Of course tribunus. Eques Smith?" The Associate turned to the Doctor. One of the lenses of his goggles went black for a second, before returning to normal.

With a slightly annoyed look on his face, the Doctor produced the psychic paper and handed it to the lead centurion.

The centurion examined it briefly, then abruptly looked back up at the trio.

"I think that you'd better come with us. Psychic tampering with a centurion is illegal."

The quintet drew their swords.

The Associate smiled weakly. "Um, Doctor? Should we run? Doctor?" He turned to see the Doctor and Clara take off.

"Come on!" Clara yelled back.

The Associate smiled. A second later he was alongside the other runners, smiling as several death rays destroyed the post he'd been standing by a second before.

"How did you do that?" Clara asked, surprised.

"Every regeneration has it's own trick." The Associate's smug smile faded as he looked ahead. "And so do these soldiers, it seems."

Clara looked ahead, and slowed down. There were several more roman soldiers at the end of the street, blocking the escapees' path. Behind them, the centurions who had tried to apprehend them were approaching slowly.

Buildings blocked any possible escape to the left or right. They were trapped.

Then the Associate did the unexpected. "I wouldn't kill us if I were you!"

The soldiers kept advancing.

"I mean it! Your Dalek masters won't be pleased if you deny them the pleasure of killing the last two Time Lords!"

The centurions halted. There was a pause.

"What are you DOING?" The Doctor demanded.

"Buying time?" The Associate muttered back. "Unless you have an escape plan handy?"

The centurion who had spoken to them before spoke again. This time, his voice was strange. "_You will come with us._"

"Yeah, fine no problem at all." The Doctor said, as the soldiers surrounded them and sheparded them away. "Now we're going to see the Daleks, who probably wanted to hide and are definitely going to try to kill us."

"I know!" The Associate squealed in uncharacteristic glee, an odd echo to his voice. "We're off to see the Daleks, the wonderful Daleks in Oz!"

On the last word there was a sonic boom that stunned every human within five feet of the Associate.

"Quick, grab your human. The sonic grenade won't put them down long, and I don't have time to recharge it."

"Sonic grenade." The Doctor gasped as he and the Associate lifted a dazed Clara and began to walk back to the Doctor's TARDIS. "Where did you find a voice-activated sonic grenade?"

"Made it myself. Really wasn't that hard."

"Why not simply use your gun? If you don't intend to use it, why carry it around?"

"I do use it." The Associate said, as they rounded the corner of the alley where the TARDIS was parked. "But really, why should I shoot a bunch of poor human puppets?"

"Oh, so you just use the gun to threaten people?" The Doctor asked, laying Clara down inside the TARDIS.

"Of course not." Abruptly the Associate spun, drew, and fired, disintigrating the centurion who had tried to arrest him when he had first confronted the Doctor, and who had been taking aim with his sword.

The Associate turned back to the Doctor and holstered his pistol. "See?"

There was a zap, and a Dalek death beam clipped the Associate.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

The Doctor watched in horror as the Associate slumped against a wall, revealing another centurion hurrying down the alley, sword raised.

With what was clearly the last of his strength, the Associate drew his blaster and fired, killing the centurion, before falling backwards into one of the waste disposal chutes in the alley.

The chute promptly faded away, leaving the Doctor staring in shock at the place where the Associate's TARDIS had been.


	5. Revelations

Clara woke up in the TARDIS with a splitting headache. She sat up slowly, holding her head in her hands.

It wasn't until her head cleared a couple of minutes later that she saw the Doctor.

He was standing by the console, fiddling with something.

She slowly got to her feet, wincing with the last aftershocks of pain.

"Ah, you're awake."

Clara moved over to the Doctor, gingerly trying to avoid aggravating her headache. "I am. What happened?"

"The Associate set off a sonic grenade. Knocked out you and the soldiers."

Clara winced. "Why weren't you affected?"

"Time Lords have a higher resistance to sonic attacks than humans do. I once created an effect similar to the grenade by holding two sonic devices together."

Clara blinked, then looked around the console room carefully. "What happened after I got knocked out? And where's the Associate? Did you send him off?"

"No. He helped me carry you in here, and defended us against a pair of soldiers before getting shot. He's dead Clara."

Clara's jaw dropped. "And you what? Just left him lying there? Even if he wasn't a Time Lord, he deserves better!"

"Clara I had no choice. He staggered into his TARDIS and flew off before I could reach him."

Clara shook her head once more. The headache was clearing. "So what do we do now?"

"We stop the Daleks. While you were out I ran some scans. I managed to locate the point that the signals controlling the soldiers were coming from. If we can shut that down, we can stop the Dalek's army before it ever deploys."

"No, I meant; what do we do about the Associate?"

The Doctor faced Clara. "Clara, he flew off in his TARDIS. It could be anywhere in space and time! Now, could I track it down? Yes, but we don't have time for that right now. We can't mourn yet. He'll be safe inside his TARDIS until we can get to him. One thing at a time Clara. Let's go."

The Doctor threw a lever, and the TARDIS took off.

"Where are we going?" Clara asked.

"The signal tower, this evening. We've got an army to stop, remember?"

"And how are we doing that?"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "I have a box and a screwdriver. I'm sure we'll manage."

The TARDIS landed at the edge of a fenced in compound near the center of the city as night was falling.

The Doctor and Clara waited half an hour until it was fully dark, then they headed in.

The Doctor sonicced a hole in the fence, and the pair crossed the open ground to reach the main building. A quick burst from the sonic screwdriver, and they were in.

The Doctor did a quick scan with the screwdriver "This way."

"Where is everyone? Shouldn't there be some guards?"

"Clara, you watch too many movies. This is a heavily secured door. They'd never expect anyone to open it."

The Doctor turned a corner and stopped. "Or perhaps they would."

Clara peered around the corner to see two centurions blocking the path, shields forming an effective wall. Instead of swords, they were armed with spears, which they currently held pointing at the ceiling.

"Clara, when I say run, run. Run!"

Clara turned to run, but was confronted by a second pair, armed the same way, coming up the hall behind her. "They're behind us, we're trapped!"

The Doctor turned to face the pair who were now blocking their retreat, then faced the pair who blocked the way forward and raised his hands. "Alright, we surrender. Take us to your leader."

Then, on a quieter note, as they were escorted down the hall, "Not nearly as much fun to say that the second time around."

The centurions escorted Clara and the Doctor to a room under the center of the building.

Waiting for them were a trio of Daleks.

"_We have located the Doctor._" Proclaimed one of the centurions as the strode into the room.

Three eyestalks swiveled to point at the Doctor and Clara. "_You have done well. It is the Doctor._"

"Yes, it's me, and if I were you I wouldn't try to exterminate me or my companion. I rigged a device that will destroy anyone who tries to fire a weapon with a Dalek energy signature."

"_We do not plan to exterminate you._"

The Doctor froze. "What?"

"_We do not plan to exterminate you. Your death is irrelivant._"

"What kind of Daleks are you? I'm the Oncoming Storm! What Dalek wouldn't try to exterminate me?"

Eyestalks swiveled to point at eachother. "_Alert, alert, the Doctor does not know us!"_

"_It is irrelevant. We can explain."_

The eyestalks swiveled to point at the Doctor again. "_The Daleks have adapted. If we exterminate you, you will be replaced."_

"_You are known. You can be countered. Your successor is not know. They cannot be countered."_

The Doctor recovered himself. "This is all very pretty, but if you're not going to kill me, then why go to all the trouble to capture me?"

"_We require your genetic material."_

"_We are creating an army from the inferior species humans."_

"_Humans are fragile. They break easily."_

"_We will make them capable of regeneration!"_

"_They will be unstoppable!"_

Focus shifted to the centurions, who were still standing at attention.

"_Take him to the laboratory."_

"_Process him!"_

"_Process him!"_

"_PROCESS HIM!"_


	6. No heroic rescue

"OK, I think that's gone on long enough."

The voice echoed through the suddenly silent room. "I was enjoying the show, but I think this farce has decidedly run its course."

"_Who is this? Show yourself!_"

"Oh, I will in a moment. But first, I want to point out that you have made a very glaring mistake. A mistake, I might add, that the humans made a note of having on a list of mistakes not to make if you're a villain 500 years ago."

"_And what is that?_"

"Your guards are wearing face concealing visors. You may notice that three your four guards are now unconscious on the floor, and the fourth is missing. That was me, last week. Me now, on the other hand..."

A door opened in the side of one of the support columns at the back of the hall. A figure stepped out.

The man standing at the end of the room was dressed in a dark green trenchcoat over a white shirt and black pants and boots. His silver hair gleamed in the light. His eyes were hidden behind familiar red goggles, and a sword hung on his left hip.

He also was holding a pulse rifle, and had it leveled at the room.

"Associate?" Clara asked, as surprised as the Doctor looked. "Is that you?"

"_Who is this Associate?_" Demanded one of the Daleks.

The man fired. The Dalek exploded.

"That would be me. The Time Lord you murdered."

"_We did not exterminate you._"

The Associate fired again. A second Dalek died. "No. You're just associated with the one who did. And now your entire race will die for it."

"Enough killing! It doesn't have to end like this." The Doctor stepped between the Associate and the last Dalek. "You don't have to be a murderer. You can be better than them."

The Associate lowered his rifle.

"You're right. I am better than them." He said as a blast sailed through the door and destroyed the last Dalek. "I actually win my fights."

The Doctor looked in horror at the dead Daleks and the man who had killed them as the Associate turned and walked back into his TARDIS. "I'll be walking back in here to escort you out in about three seconds. Remember, he's the younger copy. I'll see you back at your TARDIS."

The pillar faded out as the Associate, dressed in the gear of a roman centurion, walked into the room. "Am I done? Yes I am. Good. Let's go. I've disabled most of the systems and defenders, but there's no guarantee that more won't arrive."

The Doctor turned angrily to the Associate. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"No." The Associate said. "I don't. I'm from a week ago. I haven't yet done whatever has angered you. I did that on purpose, so you'd have time to think about whatever I did and calm down. No come ON. We need to go."

I'm not going to go anywhere with you."

One of the lenses of the Associate's goggles flickered. "I really made you angry, didn't I? Well, I'll keep that in mind. You, human." He said, addressing Clara. "Are you of the same mind?"

"I have a name, you know."

"Clara, are you of the same mind?"

"Yes, actually. You just shot them!"

The Associate held up a finger. "Spoilers." Then he was gone out the door, leaving Clara and the Doctor alone.

The pair eventually got out, stepping over bodies of dead and unconscious centurions, and avoiding broken machinery.

They reached the hole in the fence, and found non-one waiting by the TARDIS.

"I though he said he'd be here?"

"Clara who cares? We don't want to see him anyway. Let's just go."

The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and stepped inside, Clara close behind.

The Associate was leading against the console, rifle on his shoulder and his TARDIS parked in pillar form at the back of the console room.

"Hello Doctor. As I recall, you were rather irritated with me. Want to talk about it?"


	7. Parting of the Ways

"Get out of my TARDIS."

"No."

There was a long pause.

"I said get out of my TARDIS."

"And I said no. We are having this out now."

"There is nothing to discuss. You are leaving! Now!"

"No. I'm not. What have I done to make you so angry?"

"What have you done? You killed those Daleks in cold blood!"

"They had me killed. They owed me a life. Not my fault that they only had one to give."

"You killed the soldiers."

"So?"

"They were innocents! Puppets to the Daleks! They didn't have a choice!"

"Neither did I! It was them or me. They were shooting, I was shooting. I survived. They didn't. Would you be this upset if it had gone the other way?"

"Yes! I would!"

"Why? There would be fewer dead."

"I'd be this angry if only one person died."

"Then save them! Save all of them! There are TRILLIONS dying across the galaxy every day! How many of those could you help? How many could you save? But you let them die, so that those who are nearby you at that moment can live. I did what I had to so save the timeline and the billions who would have died when the Dalek's army attacked. And I'll have to live with all that blood on my hands, of the innocents I couldn't save. But I won't loose any sleep over it. I did exactly what was needed of me. I'm okay with it. I'll do it again. What do you have to say to that, Doctor?"

There was a long moment of silence in the Tardis.

"You've become a monster." The Doctor said at length. "A demon. With no qualms about killing. You truly are a Time Lord."

"Interesting. You only believe me after I kill. How many people have you lost Doctor? How many have couldn't you save?"

"Too many. It was too many after the first one."

The Associate nodded. "I know. The difference is that I don't let it stop me from doing what I must."

"What you must? Let me ask you a question. A murderer is escaping. Your best friend is trapped next to a bomb. What would you do? Stop the murderer, or save your friend?"

"I'd kill the murderer. If he's killed before he'll do it again. Then I'd go back in time and save my friend."

"What if you couldn't? What if you didn't get your friend now, you couldn't later? What would you do then?"

The Associate shrugged. "I'd still get the murderer first. And I'd watch my friend die. If I couldn't save him, I'd stay with him as he died."

"You'd put vengeance over your friend's life."

"Yes. Why is the life of my friend more important than the lives of those the murderer will kill if he goes free? One life does not outweigh ten, or twenty, or fifty."

"What if you could save your friend, and catch the murderer after? You'd have them both, and no-one would die."

The Associate shook his head. "What if he killed before I could catch him? I can't take that chance. The only safe option is to kill the murderer first and try to save my friend after. I'd hate to loose the friend, but the alternative is unthinkably worse. I'm sorry Doctor. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but I won't lie to you."

"You've become a soldier."

The Associate straightened and shrugged. "Perhaps I have. I thought about it as I recovered from my regeneration, and that was my best solution."

"How did you recover so quickly?"

The Associate chuckled. "I didn't. Took me a week. I have a time machine Doctor. For you it's only been a few hours. For me, it's been a month and a half."

The Associate began to move towards the pillar at the end of the room as the Doctor moved for the console. "Alright, I've said my piece. I'll leave now. If you ever should need a warrior, I'll visit the coordinates I gave you every regeneration. I hope to meet you again someday."

"I don't."

"No, I expect you don't. Goodbye Doctor. Until we meet again."

The Associate stepped around the pillar and vanished. The pillar slowly faded away, and the Doctor was left alone in his TARDIS with Clara.

**The Associate will return in: Guilt by Association.  
>One of my characters will guest star.<strong>**Review and request the sequel to accelerate my writing. ;-)**


End file.
